Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of hydrocarbon products and more specifically to processing biomass-derived feedstock with hydrocarbon feedstock to produce hydrocarbon products by fluidized catalytic cracking.
Background of the Invention
Renewable energy sources have been increasingly used in carbon based fuels to reduce emissions. A variety of such renewable energy sources have been explored. One of such renewable energy sources is biomass. Biomass includes organic sources of energy or chemicals that are renewable. Typical sources of biomass that have been used for fuel include trees and other vegetation, agricultural products and wastes, algae and other marine plants, metabolic and urban wastes.
Several conventional processes have been developed for the conversion of biomass. Such conventional processes include combustion, fermentation, gasification, and anaerobic digestion. However, there are drawbacks to such conventional processes for the conversion of biomass. For instance, bio-oil is a product of biomass. Drawbacks to the produced bio-oil include the bio-oil having high levels of oxygen. Further drawbacks include costly and inefficient upgrading of the bio-oil.
Hydroprocessing of bio-oil has been developed to overcome drawbacks to conventional processes. Hydroprocessing includes hydrotreating, hydrocracking, or combinations thereof. Hydroprocessing may remove oxygen as water. Hydroprocessing also has drawbacks. Drawbacks include that the high oxygen content of bio-oil typically makes hydroprocessing expensive in light of the large amount of hydrogen involved. Moreover, hydrogenation may be typical and of a non-selective nature. For instance, aromatic components present in the bio-oil may also be hydrogenated, which may increase hydrogen consumption beyond the levels used for oxygen removal.
Consequently, there is a need for improved processes for reducing the oxygen content of bio-oil and other liquid products of biomass.